No. 7 Women's Soccer Advances

Senior Sara Keane made seven saves tonight. She also stopped two PK attempts, helping WVU earn the right to advance in the NCAA Tournament. Photo by Raymond Thompson

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It took penalty kicks to propel the No. 7-ranked West Virginia University women's soccer team past Rutgers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

West Virginia advances to the round of 32 for the first time since 2010. A crowd of 1,610 packed the stands, marking the fifth-largest crowd ever at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

“One of the pieces when you get home-field advantage is getting a big crowd behind us,” says coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “The crowd was unbelievable. I would love to take this opportunity to tell them. All of that gold and blue was just unbelievable tonight, and I believe that spirit just pushed us a bit.”

After the match ended in a 0-0 draw following 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute sudden death overtimes, the Big 12 Conference champion Mountaineers (16-3-3) made their first three penalty kicks, while denying all three of the Scarlet Knights' (13-4-5) attempts.

“I don't think this was our best performance. It is an experience moving forward because we are so young. Great teams find a way to win these types of games,” Izzo-Brown says.

Tonight marked only the second time all season West Virginia was held scoreless in regulation - the first being a 2-0 loss at then-No. 7 Texas Tech on Oct. 27.

The Mountaineers looked to their on-field leaders in the first two rounds of penalty kicks, as senior forward Frances Silva netted the Mountaineers' first opportunity, and freshman defender Kadeisha Buchanan nailed the second. Up 2-0, junior defender Jess Crowder’s conversion of the Mountaineers’ third attempt proved golden, as RU’s Jonelle Filigno sent the Scarlet Knights’ third PK wide.

West Virginia senior goalkeeper Sara Keane made two saves on the RU’s first attempts, and forced Filigno’s wide attempt.

Keane finished the night in net with seven saves.

“Our coaches did a great job scouting them,” Keane says of the Scarlet Knights. “Their last few games went into penalty kicks, so we sort of had an advantage there. I just trusted my gut.”

West Virginia's best opportunity of the first half came in the 17th minute. Ashley Lawrence, Kelsie Maloney and Amanda Hill all took shots from inside the box, but the Rutgers defense held strong, blocking two away, and forcing the third wide of the net.

The Mountaineers controlled possession for most of the first half. West Virginia had 16 shots to just five from Rutgers after the first 45, while also putting six shots on-goal to the Scarlet Knights' three.

Rutgers found the head of Brianne Reed off a corner in the 69th minute. Reed headed the shot on goal, but a diving Keane deflected the attempt over the crossbar.

Maloney had a great opportunity in the 88th minute for WVU. She took a deep cross from sophomore Cari Price just outside the box. Maloney, also a sophomore, put one touch on the ball and cut inside, but RU keeper Jessica Janosz made a diving save near the far post.

Janosz finished with nine saves tonight.

Silva had a quality try late in the second overtime frame, ripping a shot from the top of the box in the 105th minute, but it went just wide.

The Mountaineers return to action on Friday, Nov. 22, as they take on No. 1-seeded Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., with the winner advancing to the NCAA Round of 16. Kick between the Mountaineers and the No. 4-ranked Hokies is set for 6 p.m.

“I think that we are a good team when it comes to big games like this,” says Silva of the match-up at VT. “There’s a reason we’ve won so many games over the past 10 years over top-10 opponents. As long as we stay focused and do what our coaching staff tells us to do – they come up with great game plans every time – and everyone plays within themselves, we have a good shot against them.”